Brand New Day Fits Into The MCU Timeline Explained

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day has arrived, and though it’s answered plenty of questions, it’s raised several of its own, including some about the timeline. Although it clearly deals with the aftermath of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s clearly been a while since Spider-Man’s multiversal mishap.

After months of speculation as to when audiences would get their first real look at the film, the trailer debuted on Wednesday and answered a few questions (while posing many more). Tom Holland’s character appears to have fully embraced his alter ego of Spider-Man, with the trailer teasing that he’s pushed down his Peter Parker identity for a number of years now.

When Spider-Man: Brand New Day Takes Place Compared To Other MCU Releases

Along with the trailer reveal, Sony and Marvel Studios also released a brief synopsis for Brand New Day and noted that the story takes place four years after the events of No Way Home. This lines up generally with the release of each film, as No Way Home hit theaters 4 and a half years ago by the time Brand New Day comes out.

That places the new movie as one of the furthest stories in the MCU timeline, especially when compared with other films and shows set in New York City. For example, Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, is seen out of prison in the trailer and sporting a haircut (and no beard). This differs from his initial Daredevil: Born Again season 1 look, as he had long hair and a beard when he first appeared in that show.

Come the finale of Born Again season 1, Castle is back to looking like his traditional self, before being put in prison for his role as a vigilante. He breaks out in the post credits scene, meaning that Brand New Day almost certainly takes place after the events of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again.

The trailer for Brand New Day also may have accidentally revealed a huge spoiler about Daredevil: Born Again season two, meaning that the Spider-Man film is likely set after the latest Marvel Disney+ show. There’s also the small matter of Avengers: Doomsday, which is set to release at the end of the calendar year and is scheduled to undergo additional filming this spring.

Some rumors in the past have suggested that Brand New Day could be set during the events of Doomsday, while other speculation says that it will take place in between Doomsday and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars.

The trailer doesn’t give an answer to those questions, but clues may lie in the scale that Doomsday will likely have, with the entire Multiverse seemingly at stake. The Brand New Day trailer doesn’t show anything as huge as that going on in the background, which may suggest it takes place prior to Doomsday.

What Does Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Place In The MCU Timeline Mean For The Story?

That Spider-Man: Brand New Day likely takes place prior to Avengers: Doomsday reveals a lot about the story for both films. For one, the iconic web-crawler will seemingly continue his relative isolation from the rest of the universe, choosing to operate alone as Spider-Man rather than rejoining the Avengers.

This then points to a lack of Spider-Man in Doomsday, which makes sense given that Tom Holland wasn’t featured in the cast announcement video.

However, rumors have swirled for a number of months now that Tobey Maguire will appear in Doomsday, meaning that the film will still have a version of Spider-Man in the story.

If that’s true, then that may make it even less likely that Maguire joins the cast of Brand New Day, as his character may be saved for Doomsday. Additionally, given the aforementioned grounded nature and isolation of the story of Brand New Day, having a multiverse character like Maguire appears to clash with that approach and tone.

Brand New Day’s place in the MCU timeline may also say a lot about the story of Daredevil: Born Again season 2. Since the trailer appears to have revealed a major development from the upcoming season of the Disney+ show, this plot point from Born Again will likely be followed up on in Brand New Day.

Born Again’s story of Kingpin as mayor has been a constant since the series debuted, so Brand New Day looks set to build on that in some form. However, fans shouldn’t expect to see Vincent D’Onorfio in Brand New Day. The actor shared last year that rights issues prevent his villain from appearing in a theatrical film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thus ruling Kingpin out of the story of Brand New Day.

This means that Brand New Day will instead focus on its other Spider-Man antagonists, many of whom appear in the trailer. One of these is Scorpion, who made his MCU debut all the way back in 2017 in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Fans have long since wondered about the status of Michael Mando’s character, and nine years after his debut, he now looks set to enter the spotlight.

Another villain is Tombstone, played by Marvin Jones III (who previously appeared in Black Lightning). Unlike Scorpion, Tombstone (whose real name is Lonnie Lincoln, is more grounded as a villain. He operates in some of the same circles as Kingpin and poses a similar sort of threat, one that is less spectacle and more pure individualized strength and power he wields in New York City.

Tombstone is joined by Tarantula, another spider-themed character that Brand New Day’s hero can be seen battling against in this week’s trailer. In the comics, Tarantula is a martial arts expert, excelling in hand-to-hand combat and proving to be a formidable enemy for Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

There’s also the matter of Sadie Sink’s character, who is seen causing destruction in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer and is the subject of many fan theories regarding her identity. Some suggest she may be tied into the Punisher, whereas bolder theories suggest she may be Jean Grey or Rogue, which would be a major sign of the X-Men’s integration into the broader MCU.